Cristiano Ronaldo transfer stance caught Man Utd manager Ten Hag blindsided
Ben Jacobs
- 13 Jul 2022 11:36 BST
- 3 min read
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Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to push for a transfer away from Manchester United has caught manager Erik ten Hag blindsided, CBS reporter Ben Jacobs writes for FootballTransfers.
Ten Hag is more disappointed with the disruption that the Ronaldo saga will have on his transfer window and his pre-season, and not on a football side not being able to plan with or train with play friendlies with their top goal scorer.
Man Utd don’t know whether to replace Ronaldo or whether to proceed and force him to stay at the club – then you’re not going to get the best out of him. It’s less about wanting him to stay or wanting him to go and more about wanting the clarity urgently over a resolution, so Manchester United know where they stand, so they can go out and get a replacement.
Twenty-plus goal replacements don’t come easy. Man Utd were looking for defensive reinforcements and creative wingers in this window and maybe a central midfielder. They wouldn’t have planned for replacing Ronaldo - because he’s such a focal point in the team, you can’t without upsetting him.
Man Utd don't know where they stand on Ronaldo
That’s the biggest disruption. Man Utd don’t know where they stand and Ten Hag has to plan with no clue whatsoever whether his team is built around Ronaldo and where his 20+ goals are going to come from.
If United knew privately and openly and honestly of Ronaldo’s desire, then they would have acted a lot differently in the early part of this window, they might have put themselves in the mix for a Richarlison or another striker of that mould to plan for the fact that CR7 might depart.
Ten Hag felt a bit blindsided. Ronaldo is playing this exit out through almost protest and the media.
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From what I understand about Ten Hag specifically, he’s very candid, he’s very open, he’s pretty warm, and he expects absolutely honesty good or bad. He gives his players a voice. He encourages his side collectively and individually to speak up, in training and in the dressing room. There’s a two-way process to get the best out of the player.
With Ronaldo, the challenge is that Ten Hag felt it was completely blindsided on him, with no indication in the days leading up to pre-season that Ronaldo wouldn’t show.
